RIR and Progressive Overload are two weightlifting features in FITIV Pulse that work together. RIR records how hard each set actually felt. Progressive Overload reads your training history and recommends your next step. Both are available in FITIV Pulse 10.9 and later on iOS, across all strength and weight training activity types.
What Is RIR and Why Does It Matter?
RIR stands for Reps In Reserve. It is the number of reps you could still have completed when you stopped a set.
If you finished a set of 10 and had two more in the tank, that set was an RIR of 2. If you had nothing left, that is an RIR of 0.
This matters because weight and reps alone do not tell the full story. Two people can log the same set of 10 at the same weight, and one is close to failure while the other is coasting. RIR captures that difference. It turns a number on a screen into a real measure of effort.
| ℹ️ Pro Tip: RIR is optional. You can log a workout without it. The more sets you rate, the better FITIV understands your training intensity. |
What Is Progressive Overload in FITIV Pulse?
Progressive Overload is FITIV's recommendation for how to advance a specific exercise. When you apply it, FITIV reviews your recent sessions for that exercise and suggests a next step, whether that means more weight, more reps, or more sets.
This is not a fixed formula. It is a coaching recommendation built from your actual history, so it responds to what you have been doing rather than adding a set percentage every week.
The two features reinforce each other. Progressive Overload reads the RIR you logged to judge how hard those sessions really were, then decides whether to push, hold, or ease off.
How Do I Log RIR During a Workout?
RIR lives in the set table on each exercise card, right next to Reps. You log it as you train.
When you open an exercise, the set table already shows what you logged last time for that movement. That gives you a reference point before you start, so you know what you need to match or beat.
- Start a strength or weight training workout and check the exercise you are working on.
- Complete your set.
- Enter your reps in the Reps field.
- Tap the RIR box for that set and enter how many reps you had left.
- Tap the check circle to mark the set complete.
- Repeat for each set.
You can log RIR on your iPhone or directly from your Apple Watch, so you do not have to pick up your phone between sets.
| ℹ️ Pro Tip: RIR is logged during your session. Rate each set right after you finish it, while the effort is still fresh. Guessing hours later defeats the purpose. |
How Do I Apply Progressive Overload to an Exercise?
Progressive Overload is applied per exercise, from inside your workout. There is no setting to turn on first and no way to apply it to an entire workout at once.
- Start your strength or weight training workout.
- Find the exercise you want to progress.
- Tap the three-dot icon in the top right corner of that exercise card.
- Tap Apply Progressive Overload.
- Wait a moment while FITIV reviews your history for that exercise.
- Read the Progressive Overload Summary that appears on the card.
- Review the updated sets, rep targets, and RIR targets in the set table.
Repeat this for any other exercise you want to progress in the same session.
Your previous session's numbers are replaced by the new targets once the recommendation is applied. From that point you are training toward the new numbers, not last week's.
| ✅ Success Tip: You will see a Progressive Overload Summary on the exercise card explaining the change in plain language, and your set rows will update with new targets. |
How Does FITIV Decide What to Recommend?
FITIV sends the last five sessions of that specific exercise to its coaching model. That includes your weight, reps and rep ranges, set type, rest time, any notes you wrote, and the RIR you logged on each set.
RIR is used directly to judge effort. If your recent sessions looked comfortable, with higher RIR values, the recommendation nudges your load or reps up. If you were grinding near failure, stalling, or your notes mention fatigue, it holds steady or backs off slightly.
Volume history matters too. If you used to do more sets than you have been doing lately, the recommendation may scale you back up toward that previous level rather than adding weight.
| ⚠️ Alert Tip: Progressive Overload needs history to work with. If you have never logged sets and reps for an exercise before, there is nothing to progress from. Log it normally for a session or two first. |
How Do I Get Better Recommendations?
The quality of the recommendation depends on the quality of what you logged. Three habits make a real difference.
- Write notes when something affects your session. The note field on each exercise card is not just for you. FITIV reads your notes as part of the recommendation. If you write that your shoulder felt tight, that you slept badly, or that you were deliberately taking it easy, that context shapes what comes next. Without it, a light session looks like a decline in performance rather than a deliberate choice.
- Log consistently. FITIV reads your last five sessions of an exercise. Gaps in that history give it less to work with. Marking every set complete and rating your RIR gives the clearest picture of your training.
- Keep the same exercise when you want to progress it. History is tied to the specific movement. If you replace an exercise, the new one starts with no history for you, so there is nothing to progress from yet.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQs
Q: Do I have to log RIR for Progressive Overload to work?
A: No. Progressive Overload can work from your weight, rep, and set history alone. Logging RIR makes the recommendation more accurate because it tells FITIV how hard those sets actually felt, rather than leaving it to be inferred from the numbers.
Q: Can I apply Progressive Overload to my whole workout at once?
A: Not currently. It is applied one exercise at a time using the three-dot menu on each exercise card. If you want to progress four exercises, apply it four times.
Q: Why is nothing happening when I apply Progressive Overload?
A: The most common reason is missing history. FITIV needs previously logged sets and reps for that specific exercise before it can recommend a next step. A brand new exercise, or one you swapped in for the first time, will not have anything to read yet.
Q: Which workouts support these features?
A: All strength and weight training activity types in FITIV Pulse. You do not need a saved template. Both features work whether you built the workout yourself, pulled it from the Workout Library, or saved it as a template earlier.
Q: What does an RIR of 0 mean?
A: It means you reached failure on that set and could not have completed another rep with good form. A higher number means more reps left in reserve, so an RIR of 3 means you stopped three reps short of failure.
Q: Does the recommendation always add weight?
A: No. Depending on your history it may add reps, add sets, raise a rep target, hold you steady, or reduce slightly. The goal is the right next step, not a bigger number every session.
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- The FITIV Support Team